Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story Movie Review Summary

Actors:John C. Reilly, Nat Faxon, Tim Meadows, Conner Rayburn

Detailed plot synopsis reviews of Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story

This movie is a parody of music biopics, most notably "Walk The Line" and "Ray." The main character is fictitious rock musician Dewey Cox, who has to overcome personal demons and drug addiction to rise to fame and fortune as one of the world's top pop/rock musicians.
Click here to see the rest of this review

The movie opens in Springberry, Alabama, in 1946. Young Dewey Cox and his brother Nate play with machetes in the family barn right after their father happily claims that nothing bad's going to happen today. When Dewey accidentally kills his brother with a machete, his father blames him, as Johnny Cash's dad did in 2005's "Walk The Line." Dewey loses his sense of smell, as Ray Charles gradually lost his sight in "Ray." "You've gone smell-blind, son," Mrs. Cox sadly tells Dewey. "The wrong kid died," Mr. Cox says, and not for the last time.

When Dewey reaches his mid-teens, his music draws the ire of the local preacher. Dewey's father sides with the preacher and kicks Dewey out. Dewey and his new girlfriend Edith move out and have a baby. She insists that he won't get anywhere with his music. He gets a big break when he performs at a Black-American nightclub, delighting some Hasidic Jewish record executives attending the show. They take him to a recording studio, where Dewey's rendition of "That's Amore" almost prompts the record producer not to give Dewey another chance. Dewey performs his own song, "Walk Hard," which becomes a hit in only 35 minutes!

Every time Dewey stumbles on his drummer and some groupies doing a different drug each time throughout the film, he tries it and ends up addicted. He becomes unfaithful to Edith and is blamed by his father for his mother's death. Dewey then stresses out and briefly demands that the band play faster and aster music, apparently a reference to "The Jazz Singer" with Neil Diamond. This anticipates "punk" music. Dewey's drug problems land him in jail. This is followed by his first stint in rehab.

Dewey and Darlene relocate to Berkeley during the mid-'60s. He starts writing protest songs, and he and the band fly to India. There, he does LSD with the Beatles, who are feuding with one another. The LSD trip is depicted in a "Yellow Submarine"-style cartoon sequence. Dewey's continued drug problems and abuse of the band drive them all away, including Darlene. He ends up in rehab again, where his brother's ghost berates Dewey's self-pity.

In the '70s, Dewey hosts a comedy-variety show, but has writer's block. Nate's ghost tells him to tell their father he loves him, but when Dewey reunites with him, he tries to kill Dewey and accidentally kills himself. He goes crazy and destroys his home.

Darlene returns just as Dewey decides to pay attention to his many kids. He then regains his sense of smell. A sample of "Walk Hard" in a rap song gains popularity with young listeners, and Dewey receives a lifetime achievement award. He performs one last time after reuniting with his band, and dies 3 minutes later.

Best part of story, including ending:
I liked that the music and the gags were well-done. There was a minimum of gross-out humor.

Best scene in story:
The Beatles scene. The SLD trip was clever, and Paul Rudd's John Lennon accent was hilarious.

Opinion about the main character:
Dewey was a likable bumpkin, even though he cheated on his wife. He was finding his way through life like any of us.

This is a parody of the life of a rock star living and performing from the fifties to eighties. John C. Reilly plays Dewey Cox. Dewey accidentally cuts his brother in half while playing with machetes as if they are swords. Before he dies, he tells Dewey to be twice as famous for the both of them. He picks up the blues guitar for the first time, plays and sings like an old black man. He does a song at a local talent shown making the audience go wild with his music. He father throws him out of the house for playing "the devil's music." He works as a janitor at a nightclub where all the patrons are black. One night the lead singer has laryngitis so he performs instead. He wins the audience over immediately. Some record executives dressed as Hasidic Jews take him in to the recording studio to introduce him to a big record producer.

He sings a terrible Rock-a-billy version of "That's Amore" which almost gets him thrown out. Then he sings a song he wrote called "Walk Hard" which becomes an immediate hit. He performs after Elvis during a big show singing his hit "Walk Hard." The audience loves it. His mom dies by getting dizzy listening to his music and falling out of the second story window.

He goes on the road leaving his wife with his many kids. He gets into drugs and has the typical rock and roll touring experience of constant sex, drugs, and music performing. He marries a second wife becoming a bigamist. His first life leaves him. He has a break down and goes into rehab. He comes out, rebuilds his music career by going with the Beatles to India. He takes LSD with them. He comes back to USA and makes a crazy wall-of-sound type song from the LSD experience. He gets hooked on drugs again.

He has a fight with the band members that have been with him for twenty years. They leave him. His wife threatens to leave unless he quits the drugs. He pretends to agree, and then he takes PCP. He goes on a rampage wearing only a Japanese thong. He throws cars over in the street. The other wife leaves him. He is arrested and thrown back into rehab. A vision of his dead brother appears to him telling him to get his act together. He wants to write a song masterpiece for his brother but he gets "song-block" and cannot write the song.

In the seventies, he goes on television. He becomes popular again. Old seventies TV stars do cameo appearances like Cheryl Tiegs, Cheryl Ladd, Patrick Duffy, and Morgan Fairchild. His brother appears to him again. He tells him he has to make amends with his father. When he goes to his father, his father challenges him to a fight with machetes. He father accidentally cuts himself in half. Before his father dies, he forgives him. Back in LA, Dewey has a complete breakdown, throwing his friends out, and then smashing everything in his house.

After he recovers, he realizes he needs to spend time with his own kids. He has dozens of them. He gets back with Darlene. He retires from the music scene. At the end of his years, he gets a chance to perform again when they sample his old song "Walk Hard" and want to give him a lifetime achievement award. This inspires him to write his masterpiece "Beautiful Ride."

Best part of story, including ending:
All the cultural references from music over the past decades are very funny.

Best scene in story:
It is hilarious when Dewey's father cuts himself in half and keeps talking for a short while.

Opinion about the main character:
The Dewey character is based on the lives of many rock stars which are fun to recognize in his behaviors.